Jigsaw
by LizzieMorewolfe
Summary: She never thought she'd change her view about love and about relationships until she did. (JessexBeca) Not an update. Just had to fix a few errors.
1. Prologue

This story is inspired "When You're Busy Making Other Plans" so credits to the wonderful Anon who wrote that. ( /works/601661) This is my first Pitch Perfect fic and reviews are very welcome. Enjoy.

Disclaimer: I sadly do not own Pitch Perfect nor any of it's awesome singers.

**Prologue: She never thought she'd change her view about love and about relationships until she did.**

Eighteen days before their first anniversary, Beca woke up at 11 in the morning to 8 missed calls and 13 unread messages. She only had time to discover that they were all from her stepmother (Yes, she's calling her that now. Would wonders never cease?) before the woman herself began to call again. Apparently, her stepsiblings' usual babysitter had suddenly gotten the Chicken Pox; and, by some force of circumstance, all other potential candidates were unavailable.

This was how Beca found herself in a semi-panicked state almost eight hours later as she hurriedly finished whipping up dinner. Bellas rehearsal had finished late as it was almost time for the Finals and she had to perform emergency first-aid duties as Gigi, the six-year old, had tripped over one of Mikey's action figures and grazed her knee. Her role as nurse had to extend for another fifteen minutes when a sobbing eight-year old boy brokenly told her to fix his action figure as his sister "killed it". By the time she finished cleaning up this mess, it had already been past six. The kids' dinnertime was at seven. And so, it was with a great loss of pride and dignity that she texted a familiar number with _"Can I take back my 'No Thanks!'? Help!"_ to which a doorbell had rung in response fifteen minutes later.

So, while Jesse and Benji- whom he had brought over as entertainment- amused the kids with magic tricks, she had put together her Grandmother's well-loved Pasta Ala Oglio- without the shrimp since Jesse was allergic to seafood- and chicken pops stuffed with parsley. Before long, she found herself seated at a table for six, staring across at Jesse as Gigi, Mikey and Benji, a child really, chattered on happily and feeling like a…mother. Before she could stop herself, images of a similar dinner with mini-Jesses and mini-Becas and, of course, Jesse himself, came unbidden and she found herself actually wanting it. As she shook herself out of her reverie, she found Jesse looking at her and mouthing "Are you okay?".

She gave him a look that said "never been better". And she meant it. For some reason, Ms. Beca Mitchell, the "Stay-the-heck-away-from-me-I-don't-do relationships" girl just saw what the future- a married with 2.5 kids kind of future- looked like and she wasn't frightened about it. She had somehow managed to find the perfect fit for herself and growing old with him suddenly didn't seem like the prison sentence she once thought it would be. Neither did it seem so horrible and frightening. In fact, she looked forward to it. So yes, Beca Mitchell could say that she had never been better.

* * *

**The second chapter (aka the real story) will probably be posted tomorrow. Don't forget to drop a review. Thanks!**


	2. Jigsaw

Disclaimer: Pitch Perfect and its characters aren't mine.

I'd like to apologize in advance if there's a lack of cohesion between the Prologue and this. I tried to make them work to the best of my ability. Like any other FF author, I really appreciate feedback, may it be good or bad so it would mean a lot to me if you let me know your thoughts about the story afterwards. Anyway, without further ado, I'd present to you 'Jigsaw', a labour of love.

Thank you for pointing the "Star Wars error" out, Anon.

* * *

**1. When they break up, there's no big fight, no sobfest and definitely no World War 3. They just…break up.**

It was around the end of November when Jesse received a text message from his then girlfriend of twenty months that read: _**My room. ASAP. **__Perfect_, was all he thought as soon as he saw it. He had been meaning to talk to her and this was the perfect opportunity to do so without anyone walking in on them. He wasn't looking forward to the talk but it had to be done.

He only knocked once before the door was opened by a nervous Beca, who silently motioned for him to take a seat on her bed. So take a seat he did. They sat there quietly for about a minute or so and he took that time to gather up the courage to say what he needed to say. Taking a deep breath, he began.

"I think we should break up." They both said at the same time. They both looked down and nervously fidgeted, waiting for the other's reply before registering what said other just announced.

"Wait what?" They both exclaimed at the same time before a giggle escaped from Beca's lips. Jesse sighed in relief, a huge weight gone. It seemed as if he wasn't the only one who sensed that a break would do them good.

"You first," He motioned for her to talk.

"It's not you, actually. It's me," She begins before clapping a hand over her mouth. He bites back a chuckle at just how utterly clichéd it sounded.

"Did I just say that?" She moaned. "Please tell me I didn't just say that."

"Sorry Becs. I'm afraid you did." She moans one more time before shaking her head and going back to business. He unconsciously sits up straighter and braces himself for what she's about to say.

"You know that in the two and half years since I've first met you that you've done wonders on me right? And no, now's not a good time to preen." She holds out a hand to stop him from doing just that just as his mouth opens. He promptly shuts his mouth. She immediately picks up where she left off. "I mean, I'm actually friends with my stepmom and, even if my mom is still pretty much the worse mom in the world, I can have passably decent conversations with her. I have lunch dates with my dad. LUNCH DATES. And most importantly, I actually let you turn my life upside down. But the thing is, I just realized that you doing all those means that I was pretty messed up and still am. And I don't want to be in a serious relationship when I know I need a lot of growing up to do. Not just because I can't spend my time dating a guy and figuring myself out at the same time but also because it wouldn't be fair to you. And also, between you, Bellas and the radio station, I have been neglecting school even though that was part of the deal with my dad and I need to get back onto that. So yeah. Your turn."

She shoots him a small but nervous smile and he sits there stunned at how candid she is and just how much she's blurted out. It's very out of character for Beca and he savors the fact that she did that, in front of him, for a moment before he speaks.

"Well, uh, before I say my piece, I just want to say, Thanks Beca for being honest with me. I know this feelings things is absolutely not your thing so it means a lot to me that you would tell me that. And I'm so proud of you for choosing to do this. I know how hard it is for you to admit this and to even tear down more of your walls." He gives her an encouraging smile at that. "Anyway, um, well. My reasons are sorta like yours actually, in the way that they are about priorities. I realized that from Day One I made college all about a cappella- blame Benji's enthusiasm- and you. And don't take this the wrong way. A cappella and you are the two most amazing things that have happened in my life. But this is supposed to be college. It's supposed to be learning new things, preparing for the future, broadening my horizons. I have broadened my horizons a little bit. And that's just it. I discovered the Trebles and the enigma that is Beca Mitchell but I settled there. I didn't explore more. Experience other things – although I did get my heart broken once- and even put more time and focus into the actual academics. And I need to do just that. Despite that though, just- It's not because I don't like you or care for you anymore okay? I just need to explore college, you know?."

Silence meets his statement before Beca uncomfortably clears her throat.

"Wow. Okay. So I guess we both need some growing up and re-prioritizing to do. You are okay with this right Jesse? Know that I do care about you and breaking up with you doesn't have anything to do with me caring about you less."

His heart gives a little jump at that. So maybe they're not them anymore. But the feelings are there. And maybe, maybe after "exploring" and experiencing new things, they could do this again. He does have one fear though, and, as this is the "pour your soul out" day, he voices it out.

"So does this mean we can't be friends anymore? Cause I still have, oh, about a million movies, that I need to force you to watch." He hides it behind a jest and a teasing smile, as he always does but his heart is bracing itself for impact, preparing for the 'no. It'll hurt too much' that would send him back to that spiral from two years ago. So when she answers him with a huge grin his mind almost fails to comprehend it.

"Yes you dork. You can still continue with your movication."

And that was that. They weren't THEM anymore. But they were still friends

* * *

**2. Unsurprisingly, the Bellas and Trebles reacted more violently than they themselves did**

"You what?!" The statement echoes in the very silent auditorium where the Bellas and Treblemakers are gathered for a rehearsal for a joint performance that they had been asked to present at a BU convention. It has been a week since the break-up and one of the Bellas- a newbie named Desirae- had casually observed that Jesse had stopped picking Beca up after rehearsals. In response to this, Jesse had casually said, "Oh. We're not dating anymore."

This was met with incredulous silence and several dropping jaws and, of course, Fat Amy's very verbal reaction which was still ringing and bouncing off the walls of the auditorium.

"Y-you're not?" Benji somehow manages to stammer out, shocked that he hadn't picked that up despite being Jesse's roommate and best friend.

"Nope," is all Beca says, popping the P.

"If it's alright with you guys, I think we should get back to our rehearsals," Jesse immediately says.

"No no no. You can't just drop a bomb like that and go back to rehearsals!" Stacie's statement seems to be a switch of some sorts as people begin to mercilessly crowd and interrogate the non-couple. Excited "Spill"s and "What happened?"s come in from all directions and the two poor souls' eyes meet. Jesse mouths the word "run" at which Beca grabs his hand and hightails it out of there, calling out, "Practice to resume tomorrow afternoon" behind her back.

When they have managed to reach a considerable distance, they do this awkward thing where she blushingly releases his hand and they both mumble that they're heading somewhere else, the radio station and her room, respectively before doing just that. Because of her new resolution to actually focus on her schoolwork-she still hasn't quite gotten over the shock of actually deciding to do so, but, hey, she's actually growing up now- she very reluctantly forgoes mixing and starts on her schoolwork.

Four hours, thirty pages worth of assigned reading and one short paper later, she is startled into awareness when someone knocks at her door. From the slight pause before the third knock, she automatically assumes that it's Jesse and that he's trying to find sanctuary from the nosy aca-community in her room. That is why she was in for the shock of her life when, contrary to her expectations, she finds Fat Amy and Cynthia Rose waiting at her door. As if on cue, they both part to reveal a third party: Chloe Beale.

"Oh no," she manages to moan out as she belatedly recalls that Chloe is visiting this week. She can do nothing more than though before the two strongest Bellas practically pick her up by the arm and proceeded to drag her to the…Radio Station? She faintly registers Chloe responding with an evil "Oh yes. We need to talk, Ms. Mitchell." and a smirk but is soon too occupied trying to break free from the two girls.

"You know that resistance is futile right? I'm a professional cage fighter, love!" Amy not so gently reminds her. "And I'm pretty sure Cynthia Rose is also secretly Amazonian. She prolly learned how to fight escaping the mafia in her gambling days."

Cynthia Rose doesn't look amused at that pronouncement but tightens her hold on Beca, nonetheless. Sighing in defeat, she surrenders and allows herself to be carried off into the Radio Station. When they reach the inner room, a snort of laughter escapes her lips at the sight that meets her. There, on one of the chairs they somehow managed to find, is Jesse and, get this, he was tied up with Bella scarves.

"What, no gags?" She mirthfully quips as Jesse starts humming the familiar intro to Rihanna's S&M. "OMG. Eeew, not for that."

"We didn't want to have Treble spit on our scarves. They're sacred, you know?" Stacie responds before motioning for her to take a seat. "Now, don't take this the wrong way. I love you and respect you as our leader but I'm going to have to tie you up."

Panic barely registers in her system before she finds herself ungracefully dumped onto the chair and restrained by Benji and Donald ["Sorry Beca. But the others are scary."] who, along with Lilly, had been quietly watching the whole exchange. Once Stacie was satisfied, they all gathered in front of the two hostages and looked down with matching evil smirks.

"All right, somebody please tell me what happened to living happily ever after," Fat Amy announces, one eyebrow cocked.

"We are," Beca feebly protests.

"Together." Stacie cuts her off.

"Yeah," Chloe chimes in. "I'd like to know what happened to the half-giddy and half-nervous Beca who, three weeks before your first anniversary, called me up at 11 in the evening, which is 3 AM in my place saying and I quote, 'I didn't freak out. I totally saw that aca-perfect future thing you were talking about and I didn't flip out. I- I can't believe it. I started flashing forward to like kids and stuff and I just thought, Man I'm kinda excited for this. How the heck did this happen? What has Jesse done to me?'"

She attempts to bury her blushing face in her hands before realizing that she's pretty much bound to her chair. She sees Jesse turn towards her, a shocked look on his face.

"Did you mean that?"

"Yeah," she mumbles.

Before he has time to react and to process things, though, Benji interrupts them with,

"I'd also like to know where the Jesse who goofily said, 'She's it, Benji. Beca's the one for me' before proceeding to detail their whole future together went. I mean, you two were practically imagining and creating your whole future around each other. What happened?"

"That was it," Beca sadly says. "We were so busy **imagining** a future with the other in it that we didn't put into consideration just how we would reach the future. We forgot about the now, the experiences we had to have, the changes we needed to make. We just wrapped ourselves around the 'What will happen' that we forgot about the 'What should be happening now'."

"And," Jesse adds, "You were right about another thing. We were rearranging our futures around the other. I know that's what serious couples really do. But we were so focused on the other person that we forgot that there was more to college, more to these four years than just this relationship. We need to sort through our priorities, evaluate who, what and where we are now."

"Wow," Donald finally manages to say after a long and stunned silence. "That was probably the most mature and serious assessment of a college relationship I have ever heard anyone or rather, two people, say while sober."

"But what about the future?" Lilly chimes in softly. "You guys have the always and forever thing between you two."

A thoughtful silence fills the room as the interrogators look at both of them, all eager to hear what they had to say about it. The two have their heads bowed, unwilling to look at their kidnappers and undoubtedly still embarrassed about how much they had disclosed. In the end, it is Jesse who gives in, looks up and answers.

"Well, I honestly think that if that future is THE future and if there's an 'always and forever thing', as Lilly put it, between Beca and I that somehow, years into the future, we'll manage to work it out." He misses the warmth in Beca's expression as he says this. Neither does he notice how her eyes soften and how hope seems to glimmer in them as he says the last part. "Now, this is extremely aca-awkward and I still have to finish my five page paper for Political Science so can I go now?"

They all look at each other, as if contemplating their answer.

"I swear, if you don't release me now, I'm initiating and giving all the solos to Erin." Beca has a mischievous grin on her face now.

"But that girl's tone deaf!" Stacie exclaims.

"Um, duh?" is Fat Amy's only response as the other scramble to untie her. Donald and Benji, upon seeing the girls release Beca, quietly does the same to Jesse.

"Thank you." Jesse stretches his stiff arms. "Now, as punishment for this reminiscently mutinous act, you two are in charge of Bumper spam calls and mail for the next three months."

The two boys simultaneously shudder at the task but don't complain when they see Jesse's pissed off glare. Fat Amy just watches them with amusement.

"And Bellas? Don't think you're of the hook. We still need a few people to sing for the Chemistry Society gala. A quartet, as I recall. Start rehearsing."

A chorus of "What?!" "No!" "Man, that sucks" and other phrases serve as the response.

"Now I don't know about you guys, but my music is calling out to me. Later, nerds!" Beca skips off, a smirk on her face as she imagines the chem soc boys attempting to flirt with the Bellas during the event.

* * *

**3. They try to, as Beca promised, stay friends but, well, drifting apart seemed inevitable**

At first, it was like nothing had changed. Well, except for the kissing and dates and other relationship stuff. They still had movication nights; she had successfully stayed awake through all the three Back to the Future movies and the whole Star Wars saga- Benji had watched with them. It was adorable watching two grown men mouthing the words to the well-loved scenes and hurling curses at the inept Anakin Skywalker.

They also still worked together at the station and teasingly hurled insults during the competition season. However, things gradually shifted. As academics actually became a priority, they found themselves working different shifts at the radio station and having to cancel and take rain checks for movication night. The once weekly event became a monthly event that soon only occurred every six weeks. Pretty soon, the only time they really expected to see each other was during the competition day. [The Bellas managed to hold the title Champion for three out of the four years of Beca's stay. They only lost once, on the year of the break-up, to the Treblemakers. Suffice to say, that loss was enough of a challenge that Beca ended her reign as Bella leader with a huge bang.]

They had to resort to quick lunches together or text messages to keep in touch, even in a campus as small as Barden's. In fact, the Bellas and Trebles started to ride together just so they would have those few hours or so to catch up and talk and just…hang out.

It was only during graduation day that they managed to look at their whole journey, their whole relationship and look back with regret at how they had somehow drifted. And with Beca headed to LA and Jesse headed to New York, they both knew that somehow, they would be hard-pressed to remain the close best friends that they were.

* * *

**4. They don't see each other for four years after that**

Jesse worked hard in New York, starting with small independent movies. At first, he often ended up writing clichéd, very-typical-to-the-film-genre music but, as his projects slowly moved up the scale, in terms of quality, so did his work. It was how he found himself two years later in Sundance, being awarded Best Score for an independent film entitled, Orpheus. With the award came the open door he dreamed about: offers from different small production companies and small-time directors came pouring is. And then suddenly, his phone was ringing at 8AM in the morning and when he said hello, the voice on the other end of the line said, "Hello, this is Martin Scorcese. I hope you don't mind but I got this number from the director of Orpheus. I watched the movie and fell in love with the soundtrack. I have a new project coming up and I would like to hear what music you can coax out of it."

One thing led to another and he found himself moving to LA. Soon Martin Scorcese was not the only name he had in his admittedly impressive resume. Offers came left and right and he found himself so busy that the world outside of movies almost ceased to exist for him. It was two years after Sundance that a very stunned Jesse found out that his work in a Baz Luhrmann movie had garnered a nomination for Best Original Score in the 78th Annual Golden Globe awards.

Beca, on the other hand, found herself on the road to success much earlier than Jesse. She had only been working in the small time production company for five months when a more well known one had an open slot. She immediately applied and was ecstatic to discover that she did get accepted. No one however was more shocked that she when just nine months after her getting her new job- a little over a year from when she first moved to LA- she had discovered a brilliantly talented band known as the Dancing Narcoleptics. With their unique sound and her insightful direction, they managed to garner a Grammy on their first year and several more in the next three. She soon found herself with an impressive clientele and had begun to find herself slipping back into old anti-social Beca when Chloe moved in. The latter had almost immediately started forcing Beca into accepting some of the invites she received. It was during one of these events that they had met Dave Pryor, a budding director, who had immediately taken a liking to Chloe.

Beca's opportunities broadened up even more after this, since, when Chloe started seeing this director, she told him about Beca's mixes and she gained exposure not just for her works as a record producer but also as a DJ. It also didn't hurt that Chloe ended up marrying the guy. It was what, after all, landed her the entry pass to the 2020 Globes.

* * *

**5. The next time they meet, she's a married man's date to the The Golden Globe.**

She had barely gotten a chance to breathe for the past three weeks as they rushed to meet the deadline for Imago Dei's third album release. The bassist, Avan Barron, had sprained his wrist, pushing back their recording sessions by almost two weeks and that meant that they had very little time to get things done. And so, she was practically in paradise when she finally managed to reacquaint herself with her bed after five days of being estranged from it. She was about to succumb to the sweet siren of slumber when her answering machine alerted her to the fact that it was full.

She was tempted to ignore it when she remembered that Chloe was going to have a baby anytime soon now and the she really didn't want to miss getting to visit her godson ASAP. And so, she wearily pressed the play button on her answering machine and went through the messages. Most of them were Chloe's typical, "Are you still alive, Beca Mitchell?" worry notes and a few of Fat Amy's "When are you going to remember that the magical world of clubs and sexy firefighters is far more awesome than the boring old glassboxes that you call the studio?". There was another one from her assistant, Luke- not THAT Luke. She may or may not, however, take a secret pleasure in the fact that she was bossing over that Luke by proxy. The last message, though, was what caught her attention. She was about to tune it out as soon as she heard Chloe's voice but the message had begun with "Beca Mitchell, do not ignore this. URGENT." She shook away her sleepiness and focused on the message

"I have decided that since you have had virtually no social life for the past three weeks that an intervention is necessary. Seeing as you're pretty much free starting today, I have found the perfect solution. I am going to have a baby anytime soon and, therefore, am incapable of actually standing up for more than fifteen seconds, much less fitting into a formal dress but, Dave needs a date for the Globes and since you have no love life,- No, staring at Zac Efron, IDK how he managed to remain gorgeous, doesn't count- I have volunteered for you to be his date. So grab that gorgeous yellow dress that I bought for you last Christmas, which I know you haven't worn yet and be prepared to be walked down the red carpet this Sunday. And I gotta go now. Bye Beca. Stay Aca-awesome!"

She stared at her answering machine as it beeped once more. And then she stared a little bit more and then kept staring for another five minutes for good measure before letting out the world's most unladylike mixture of a groan and a moan. She hated getting dressed up for events and Chloe knew it. But, she also knew that Chloe was right and that she sorely needed to get out after that work binge she just had. With a heavy heart she resigned herself to the inevitable.

Four days later, she was looking absolutely glamorous as she walked down the red carpet on the arm of her best friend's husband/director, Dave Pryor. Unfortunately, no amount of post-prepping gorgeousness could make up for the fact that the closer she was to the theater doors the more she was being harassed by the paparazzi who were questioning her about her blatant alleged affair with said film director. She was being harassed by a particularly persistent reporter who couldn't seem to understand that she was telling the truth when a hand hooked around her waist and tugged her away from the man.

She was so relieved about the interruption that she almost forgot to terrify the poor man who manhandled her. She was just about to begin her tirade against the man when she registered just who he was.

"Oh my gosh! Jesse, is that really you?" She had to blink twice because there, in front of her, was an eagerly beaming Jesse Swanson, looking absolutely dapper in his tux.

"Well, unless you know any other aca-incomparably handsome weirdos named Jesse Swanson then yes, it is I, your beloved movie sensei." He gave a deep bow at this but was interrupted when she gave in to her impulse and crushed him in a hug.

"Oh wow! I've missed you so much Jesse. How has it been four years since I last saw you? And how the heck did you manage to find me here in the crowd? There must be a thousand people here." Her eyes were sparkling and she felt so giddy and alive. The bored and harassed Beca seemed to have disappeared and in its place was excited riff-off rapper Beca.

"To answer your first question, I believe that, somehow, your incredibly stubborn self managed to crush down all your Jesse-honing instincts for the past four years. It's a very good thing then that I am nothing but persistent and I just keep coming back." He shot her another grin at this and she was momentarily distracted by the random appearance of butterflies in her stomach. She quickly refocused as he playfully poked her by her shoulder. "As to how I managed to identify you… Well, have I ever told you about how your tattoos practically serve as homing beacons? Especially the rose pattern on your shoulder. I took one good look at it and immediately started walking towards you."

She laughed at this and playfully shoved him while muttering something that sounded like "dork".

"So anyway, what's this about you coming as the date of a married man?"

They forgot about everything and everyone else after that as they silently filed into the theater. She took the seat his date would have normally taken but, since he had proudly gone stag, was currently free and they continued to catch up and swap stories in the span of the ceremony. He apologized for not staying in touch, citing work as the reason why she had not heard from him, ever. As a reply sheepishly confessed that worked had consumed so much of her time that she barely watched movies – much to his utter horror- and that that was probably why she had absolutely zero news about him. He then vowed to revive movication night. Their conversation continued in a similar thread with him updating her on new "awesome movies". They were only interrupted when the a voice announced that Dorian Gray won Best Original score and she watched with amusement as he shyly made a thank you speech. She teased him mercilessly afterwards and he teased back about her allegedly steamy affair. Before the night ended, he had confirmed –much to his joy- that she was still single and had managed to get her new number. She in turn, had extracted a promise from him to stay in touch this time. It was only as they were both saying goodbye that she realized that she had never enjoyed an awards ceremony this much before and that she had absolutely forgotten and neglected her "date".

* * *

**6. Movication resumes, sometimes together, sometimes separately and sometimes even via video chat.**

She's curled up in bed at eight in the evening, a big first for her as she's been known to pull all-nighters when a particularly promising mix beckons to her. However, contrary to what the phrase "curled up in bed" implies, she's not actually about to go to sleep but is rather, balancing her laptop, the television remote and a well-loved juice pack, delivered three days ago with the command not to consume it before tonight. On her laptop screen is a smirking Jesse Swanson who looks amused at her attempt at juggling the numerous items set before her.

"So? Are you ready for movication night?" His voice sounds tiny and awkward over the laptop but she shrugs it off. Ever since that fateful meeting during the SAGs, movication night has been resumed and has been happening every two weeks for the past 6 months. They'd either go to Jesse's apartment or hers, depending on their mood and stay up til midnight watching movies before Jesse would either gallantly volunteer to escort her home- and get shot down- or dramatically say, "Til we meet again" before letting himself out. On the nights when they couldn't meet up, they'd watch the movie by themselves and discuss the movie and random trivia at a scheduled "make-up" lunch date ["AS FRIENDS, Fat Amy." "And yes, Chloe/Donald/Kolio, people can actually schedule and hold platonic lunch dates"].

Tonight, however, was going to be different, is different. As Jesse has to work with a small orchestra in Chicago for the next three weeks, he thought that this seemed like a good idea. Which is why Beca – and Jesse, in his rented condo- are both curled up in bed, laptop on their laps, a remote in one hand, a juice pack on the other and a glowing TV screen waiting patiently for Inception to show. He had been flabbergasted when he discovered that, even after he introduced her to the world of movies, she had still failed to watch this. ["It's a Hans Zimmer film, Beca. How could you have not watched it?"]

"Gimme just a minute," She replies, readjusting her position on the bed. "Okay. I'm aca-ready now."

She sees him startle and pause at that and smirks. Her Aubrey voice has improved to uncanny proportions since those early Bella days when she was still "Aubrey's poor, overworked Chihuahua".

"That is creepy." He glances around nervously on instinct, as if Aubrey might actually be somewhere in his room, before shaking his head at his silliness. "Anyways, let the movication begin."

The rest of the night is spent in relative silence, with him punctuating the film's score and dialogue with random trivia every fifteen minutes, a big improvement from when he used to butt in every five minutes, and her questions and comments. ["Oh wow. Did the city just bend in half?" "OMG, she totally jumped off!" "That is awesome. I didn't even think that was possible."]

The closer they get to the ending, the quieter she gets until she's not even saying anything and her eyes are riveted to the screen in rapt attention. It's not until the spinning top almost tips and the screen abruptly fades to black that she takes her eyes off the screen to rant at her sensei.

"That's so not fair! Did it tip? Is it re-" She trails off as soon as her eyes flick to her laptop screen. There, in plain view of his laptop's camera, is a softly snoring Jesse. She takes screencap which she immediately tweets with " JessetheAcaGod, What happened to 'endings are the best part'? Isn't he aca-adorable? #Inception #MovicationNight #OMGJessejustfellasleeponme #Thisispuregold #Blackmail" serving as the caption. She takes another look at his slumbering form before whispering, "Night, weirdo" and logging off. She quickly shuts off her laptop and shoves everything away from her bed. As her eyelids grow heavier, she breathes a quick prayer of gratitude to God for bringing Jesse back into her life again.

* * *

**7. He waits a year before he takes her out on a real date.**

In the one year since they bumped into each other during the Globes, he had somehow ingratiated himself into her life pretty well. He had taken to picking her up from the studio during movication nights and was introduced to many, if not all, of the artists she worked with. In fact, half of them were now somewhat good friends with him.

It came as no surprise to the people then when they saw him slip into the studio one late Friday afternoon. What was surprising was that today, he was in a dress shirt and that he had a bouquet of bright sunflowers in one hand.

"Hey Jesse!" Gayle, one of the music engineers called out. "Figures. Of course you'd be the one taking Mitchell out on a date tonight."

"You make it sound like you already knew that Beca had a date." He heard a snort from behind him and turned around to find Beca's assistant with a wry expression on his face.

"Beca came in wearing a dress today. An honest-to-goodness, girly, summer dress. To work. Of course we knew she was going on a date." Luke looked positively gleeful as he explained. "You can head right in. She's just finishing up with Beyond the Grave. Mari, their lead, had thrown a hissy fit in the middle of the session when she received a text message from her best friend. Apparently, her ex-boyfriend, Karlo, who happens to be her best friend, Danni's boyfriend, was being a total douche. And well, we had to pause so she could avert the crisis and well, the schedule just went poof."

Jesse simply rolled his eyes and tuned out Luke's rambling. The man had a theatrical flair and had a tendency to talk too much. Beca told him that she kept the guy cause it reminded her of him and Benji combined.

He walked into the recording room to find Beca sitting on one of the chairs with her eyes closed, simply focusing on the music that was being played via the headphones. And Luke was right; she was in a dress. A beautifully simple purple dress that made him think of a more exotic sprite. One of Titania's girls, maybe.

He was shaken out of his Shakespearian directed thoughts when she suddenly said, "There! That's it! Perfect! Alright guys, thanks for staying later. I think it's safe to say that we can wrap up now."

Relieved sighs were heard from the other side of the glass and he looked up to find the band packing away their gear. He quickly smoothed down his shirt and fixed his hair before approaching Beca.

"Hey Million Dollar Baby. Can I whisk you out now?" He gently touched her shoulder and watched with a small smile as she startled and spun around.

"Jesse! Hey! Were you waiting long? I'm sorry but we got-"

"Held up. I know. Luke launched into a very detailed account of the Best friend- Boyfriend- Ex-boyfriend crisis." She laughed at this and he tried to ignore the thrill he felt at hearing that sound. "You look far more than tolerable. Definitely handsome enough to tempt me."

A light blush spread across her cheeks and she ducked her head in true Beca fashion.

"Trying to one up Mr. Darcy, aren't we? Why can't you just accept that that man is incredibly attractive and that you're absolutely no match for him."

He feigned hurt at this.

"You cruel, cruel woman. Is that anyway to treat a guy? And on our first date no less!"

"Actually, this would be, oh, our what fiftieth date or something. You do recall that our 'first official date' was on that day when you had juice pouches and Rocky right?" She shot him a cheeky grin and his heart gives a little leap at the fact that she remembered.

"Just for that, I will not withhold these from you." He presented the sunflowers with a flourish.

"You remembered." She gave him a megawatt smile that was so unlike the snarky Beca he knew. "Thank you. These look and smell absolutely wonderful."

"You're welcome and, of course, I remember. That one time I met your grandmother was pretty much memorable. It didn't hurt that she actually liked me and told you that you were lucky to have a guy like me and that you should work so that you could keep me."

"Shut up, dork!" She punched his arm lightly. Ah, the old Beca was back. "So, are we going or what? You promised me the best ravioli in the world."

"And the best it shall be. Shall we, mademoiselle?" He bowed and offered his arm with a flourish. Playing along, she curtsied before taking his proffered arm and letting him escort her to the car.

Once they were settled, she turned around to face him.

"So, care to explain why a certain Chloe B. Pryor called me up near midnight last night? I think her exact words were, 'Rebecca Emmanuelle Mitchell, you're lucky that your godson is asleep right now or I would be shrieking at you right now. How did I not know that you have a date with Jesse tomorrow? When did he ask you out? I want the full details!'"

"What did you tell her?" he asked, laughing.

"Well, I told her that we were watching Pride and Prejudice last week and that I was swooning over Mr. Darcy when you said that real men were better and proceeded to prove it by citing incidents throughout our twenty months of bliss and even the eight or so months when I was being jerk to you. And I had countered by saying that Mr. Darcy was that and more. You had retorted, saying that you bet you could outdo him and I told you to prove it. And that was that."

"That was that," was all he echoed, his mind back to that night.

* * *

**8. Soon it's like they had never broken up and the Aca-alums are placing bets on when he proposes**

The whole aca-community soon finds out about their relationship as Chloe, in her absolute excitement, forgets about Beca's request to keep things hush hush and accidentally lets slip to Aubrey in the same week. As she had married Unicycle- yes, Beca had been shocked about that too- it wasn't long before she unknowingly included that piece of tidbit during a dinner conversation.

Word spreads like wildfire and the poor couple's inboxes are flooded by the end of that month. Actually, it's a miracle that they somehow managed to stay under the radar for that long. Gals Night Out is reinstated, with the boys spend the same night being moody in Kolio's "man cave", and everything is out there in the open.

The Bellas swoon and sigh as Beca regales them with stories of Jesse's "awesome non-doucheyness" and "Oh, can you imagine? He got the bands I worked with to serenade me on my birthday! He even got them to decorate the whole studio. It was sooooo embarrassing but it was incredibly sweet of him." The Trebles, on the other hand, revert back to mercilessly teasing Jesse, going, "Oh Beca's so wonderful and her kisses taste like sunshine and Oh, her smile. I just melt when I see it."

Two years into their relationship, Ashley, who was working in Italy, comes home for good. Aubrey, of course, decides that a whole day, mini aca-reunion is mandatory and so Beca finds herself on the floor in Chloe's living room with a bunch of giggling women as Maddox, her godson, and some of the other girls' toddlers play in one corner. Ashley is telling them about this encounter she had with an Italian teenager who was convinced that he was in love with her.

"He literally stalked me. For a whole month, I would walk out to find him poised with his guitar and he would serenade me, with a horribly out of tune voice I might add, as I headed towards my car. It was so mortifying! And it didn't just end there, he actua-" The Bellas' rapt attention towards the story is directed elsewhere as a familiar voice echoes in the house.

"Treble entering Bella territory! Enemy approaching. I repeat, enemy approaching! Do not shoot or kill!" And just like all those years ago, Jesse walks in with one hand clamped over his eyes and the other held up as if in surrender.

"Jesse!" The Bellas shriek and they pounce on the guy, crushing him with their perky, death grip hugs.

"Whoa there, ladies! There's enough of me to go around!" At the sound of clearing throat, he looks up to find Beca glaring daggers at him. "I mean, get off me you bat-crazy women. I belong to Beca and Beca only. She's the sole person with permission to show acts of affection towards me."

She rolls her eyes at the cheesiness and the resounding "aaaaws" that fill the room.

"Not that we don't want you here, cause we do, but how did you get in?" Fat Amy asks him suspiciously. "Are you secretly a stalker/peeping tom? Oh, don't tell me! You and Chloe are secretly seeing each other!"

"No and no, again. I know where Chloe hides her spare key since Beca accidentally told me once. So there. Anyways, I have been assigned as Beca's chauffer for the night and I am here to pick her up because we have dinner with her father and stepmom in, oh, twenty minutes."

"Let me grab my coat." She's about to head towards the coat rack out front when his hand shoots out and stops her.

"I'll go get it," he says gently. He pushes her back towards the girls. "You go say goodbye to them and do whatever crazy 'I miss you already' hug kiss thing it is you guys love to do."

"Thank you!" She calls to him and he waves it away. "Sorry guys, but I need to go."

Disappointed "aaaws" reach her ears and she watches all the Bellas attempt to give her the cutest puppy eyes and pouts they can conjure.

"We can do this again soon," she says, in an attempt to cheer them up.

"How about next Saturday? Are you guys free that day?" Fat Amy's phone is in her hand and she's scrolling over her schedule.

"Oh, sorry, I can't," Beca says apologetically. "I have this thing with Jesse."

"How about the Friday next?"

"Um, movication night?" She looks sheepish by then.

"Why don't you go check when you can be unglued from Loverboy and we'll decide then." Cynthia Rose's eyes are sparkling in humor as she says this in an almost coddling tone. The others don't even bother to hide their smirks.

"Becaw! We really need to go now or I'm going to start with the terms of endearment."

"Just a second!" Bece shouts back and she goes through the perfunctory round of goodbye hugs. "I'm sorry again. Bye guys! See you soon. And Chlo, you don't have to show me out anymore."

"Lovemuffin!"

"Sweetling!"

"Sugarplum."

"Honeypoo!"

"Alright! Alright! I'm coming. Geez, Swanson. Give the girl a break, won't you?" They hear his chuckle from across the hall and she gives them one last wave before calling out to him. "I'm here. Happy?"

The Bellas soon hear the front door close and they snap their attention back to each other.

"I want in on the bet," Ashley suddenly says.

"Which one?" Aubrey asks, whipping out a baby pink notebook. "Who do you think's gonna say the magic words first or When he's going to propose?"

"Propose. Definitely the proposal." She draws out her wallet and pulls out a fifty."Put me in for next month."

* * *

**9. The wedding's simple yet grand and Beca ****wouldn't have it any other way**

Unfortunately for Ashley, it's not until three whole months later that Jesse finally pops the question. It's nothing grand really, the proposal. They're playing a movie trivia game on Jesse's laptop one evening, having chosen to forgo movication as Jesse had gotten off work later than usual. She's curled up beside him on the floor of her bedroom, both of them leaning against the end of the bed and he's not really paying much attention to her as he's too focused on the next question.

_What is the correct quote:_

"_Luke, I am your father."_

"_No, Luke, I am your father."_

"_No, I am your father."_

"B. It's definitely B." Jesse announces.

"No, it's not," Beca says emphatically. "I'm pretty sure it's C."

"Are you sure? I mean, you pretty died on me halfway through Star Wars." He has a smug grin on his face, absolutely confident about his victory.

"Yup, it's C," she insists. He clicks the answer button and to his mortification, it is C.

"Yes! In your face, dork! Who's the master now?" She jumps up and begins a victory dance of some sorts. He watches her mesmerized, the sting of defeat washing away as his eyes stay glued to her bewitching form.

"Marry Me," he breathes out and she freezes. Her eyes are comically wide as she turns to him.

"Wha-?"

"Marry me," he says again, firmer this time. He takes both of her hands in one of his while the other grabs the ring from his laptop bag. "I can't imagine coming home to anyone else after a stressful day at work. I can't imagine creating pitch perfect harmonies with any other singer. I definitely can't imagine giving anyone else a movication. And I definitely can't imagine any other Million Dollar Baby wannabes coming to my rescue. So please, please tell me that you'll put up with this weirdo for the rest of your life?"

"Well, I can't imagining going through whatever life has in store for me with anyone else either so, yes, I'd love to put up with you for the rest of my life." A huge smile graces her face. She ignores the tears that are steadily trickling down to her chin as an equally huge smile answers her back. She watches as he reverently slides the white gold band onto her finger before bestowing the gentlest of kisses on it.

Their wedding is nothing fancy or grandiose. Beca Mitchell doesn't do grandiose and Chloe respects that. Which is why she keeps things as simple as possible, with the exception of one thing, that is. While Beca is a simple, small church wedding type of gal, Jesse is into big grand gestures, which was probably why Beca managed to win him over with their finals performance. And as such, he wanted to do something special for Beca during the wedding dinner. They never managed to figure out how they did it but they somehow found a way to keep Beca clueless to it while roping the aca-alums into it.

_Their wedding was perfect,_ is all Beca could think as she sways in her husband's arms during their first dance. First off, the actual ceremony was at a small church where it was just them, her family- with the stepparents and siblings of course-, his family and Chloe and Benji. It was perfect and intimate and just, simply them. This was followed by an equally simple but elegant reception held at a pavilion. There were actually guests in this one and she could see the former Bellas and Trebles flirting and bantering with each other on one side. On the other were their colleagues and LA friends: directors, artists, actors and production crews they had met over the years. She was happy at how many people came to support them and to celebrate with them on this special day.

Without warning, she feels Jesse detach from her and she sends him a confused look. He simply smiles at her and ushers her to a seat near the edge of the open space. He backs away from her and accepts a mic from Chloe. Her eyes widen as she sees the beloved aca-alums gather at the open area; she can feel her cheeks getting warm in anticipation for the embarrassing yet sweet gesture they are about to make.

"Um, may I please have your attention?" Jesse sounds and looks a little nervous. "So, as you all may now know, while Beca loves keeping things simple, I am a huge fan of huge gestures so without further ado, I'd like to give Beca my first present to her as her husband. Beca, I want you to know that I love you so much that the force of it scares me and that I will undoubtedly love you even more each day."

He joins the rest of the gang on the dance floor and she hears them start to harmonize. She immediately recognizes the song. It's the first one she's ever heard him actually sing, the one he serenaded her with as she got off from the taxi. The song gradually transitions to another after the guitar solo and then another and, as the performance progresses, she begins to see the pattern to the seemingly odd mix off songs. Each one is from a significant musical moment of their lives. She picks out "Feels like the First Time" and "No Diggity" and remembers him explaining that that was when he knew he was a goner. She also recognizes "Bulletproof" which is associated with a very painful memory; yet, she realizes, it was also part of a much more pleasant memory of when he first heard her music. And of course, "Don't You (Forget About Me)" is thrown into the mix as, is, she laughingly realizes, the theme to Million Dollar Baby. She gives them a standing ovation as soon as they finish and she only stops clapping and cheering when he walks up to her and literally sweeps her off her feet to plant a searing kiss on her.

"I love you, you crazy weirdo," she murmurs before her lips are captured by his once more. The rest of the night passes in a blur of speeches, more dances and more kisses and, as he carries her into their hotel room, she realizes that finally, finally, she absolutely no reason and no excuse to run away from home anymore because she has found home.

* * *

**10. He keeps his promise from all those years back on their first aca-initiation night**

She nervously watches him wake up when his hands meet a tiny rectangular package instead of her. A smile unconsciously makes its way to her face at the sheer adorableness that is a half-asleep Jesse Swanson before disappearing once more in trepidation as his fingers close around the box and he starts tugging it open. He hasn't noticed her yet as she stays behind him, a mug-one of peppermint tea and another of coffee- in each hand. She knows the exact moment he registers just what the gift is as he has shifted into a sitting position while opening it and now, she can see his mouth hanging open.

"Coffee?" She offers softly, terror making her unable to meet his eye as she extends her hand with the said coffee towards him. To her surprise, he not only silently takes the mug of coffee, he also tugs the mug of tea- her mug of tea- out of her other hand. Just as she looks up to ask a question, he pulls her down and crushes her in a hug. She can feel the stick that he is clutching tightly poking at her back but she ignores it as he kisses her, hard. A few minutes and several deep breaths later, he looks at her with the hugest grin in his face and tells her, "Told you so."

_**There is a certain person in your life that seems to be that perfect seems to the grooves and curves of your puzzle piece. Somehow, regardless of your willingness for him or her to become a part of your life, he or she slides in so smoothly that it just stuns you when you finally realize that he/she has. When that person leaves, you have this intense desire to find replacements for him/her, a person who'd fit perfectly just like him/her and disappoint yourself time and time again when that replacement doesn't. Then one day, you wake up and realize that that huge gap in the jigsaw puzzle is suddenly filled again, a piece has slotted in perfectly. And you turn around to take a good look at this missing piece of the puzzle. Surprise! It's that person, the very first and only one to have ever slotted in perfectly into that gap.**_

* * *

If you are reading this then I'd like to thank you for going through Jesse and Beca's journey with me!


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